Blaker Brewing - The Tarmac — Restaurant in California

Blaker Brewing was the first local brewery to offer the "Resilient" IPA in partnership with Sierra Nevada a few years ago. That was enough to get me in the door.

Blaker changes their beer offerings A LOT, but their flagship IPA "Plowed Under" seems to always be available, and compares favorably with Dust Bowl's "Hops of Wrath" and other local IPAs. Blaker's double IPAs, like "Safety Meeting", tend to be a bit one-dimensional, but "Juicy Double" is excellent and worth driving to Atwater for.

The servers at Blaker are friendly and offer insight into the beer selection and, on occasion, the origins of the brews. My server the last two Fridays was wearing a mask, which I appreciated during the COVID omicron spike. She directed me to "Drunchies", their strong stout; it was exceptional, with a surprising bitter finish, the best beer I've had this side of Russian River. Currently they have "4th and 9", a Belgian quadrupel, which reminded me a bit of North Coast's "Thelonious". Growlers are usually $15-20 and are still enjoyable after 48 hours in the fridge.

My wife wasn't impressed with the seltzers they do, but the Cranberry Apple Cider from a Salida cidery that they partner with is good...no Growlers though, so you have to enjoy it in house. They have nice indoor/outdoor seating and a GREAT venue for 4th of July drinking/eating/firework viewing...family-friendly too; my 8 year old ran around the whole time.

There are always food trucks operating next to Blaker with various options. Also, they have most of their beers in 4-packs.

Blaker seems committed to a quality product, and I hope in the years to come that they will become pillars in our community as their business grows. They have found...

We enjoy the beer. Valerie is awesome! You can say we are regulars BUT when we go there the bar tender whom is there, Josh (I believe is his name), gives us a look and takes a sight of annoyance. (I say that because as soon as we walk in he rolls his eyes) Today I decided to address it and he said I was being rude. He said, he had to be cautious because I have been belligerently drunk at times. So as a bar tender he has had to be cautious and cut me off. But I told him that he act that way as soon as we walk in, (my husband and I). We have even had others ask us what the issue is, when we have just walked in. I don't have any issues with any of the other bar tenders. Unfortunately, because of him it makes me not want to go. Therefore be cautious of him. Additional, when I have asked for a rim, he takes a deep sigh and doesn't fully give me one but...

Today was our first time dropping by The Tarmac and I have nothing but great things to say about Blaker Brewing. We picked up a few 4-packs of Hazy Babies, Hidden Lotus, and Siege of the Stoners. Not only was the beer delicious, but the beertender went out of their way to deliver my ID that I had dropped somewhere at The Tarmac with no hesitation. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THAT, you have no idea how much I appreciate this gesture, we are eternally grateful. Our friends that we shared beer with also loved our choices, so we will be back again to enjoy these delicious beers on tap. If you want to enjoy excellent beer in a chill and modern atmosphere, this is the place for you. We will definitely be back and bringing friends and family to this gem in Atwater. Thank you Blaker Brewing, and thank you to our beertender who went above and beyond...